Pig care workers on UK farms will be required to take a compulsory animal welfare course
From March 1, all people involved in the care, movement, and handling of pigs on farms in the United Kingdom must take an animal welfare course, which must be completed before August 31.
The course is carried out through a training platform where its first module is already available, focused on the movement and handling of pigs, which takes approximately one and a half hours. Upon successful completion of the training, a certificate will be issued that can be saved for audits by Red Tractor, a UK farm, and livestock product certification scheme, and on PigPro, the UK industry's online training registry.
The training course has an annual fee of £10, which will fund the maintenance of the website and any necessary revisions to the course in the future. As an introductory offer, the first 8,000 people who register will not have to pay that fee.
Georgina McDowell, technical manager for pork at Red Tractor, explained that having skilled workers on British farms "supports everything we stand for. Ultimately, this training aims to reassure consumers that Red Seal pork Tractor has been raised with care."
“We have long required producers to maintain training records, but this platform represents a step forward in terms of providing a unified and consistent standard of pig care across the industry,” she added.
Meet the expected standards
Zoe Davies, Chief Executive of the UK's National Swine Association (NPA), said: “This is a vital part of showing that pig farmers meet the standards we expect within the industry. We know we have a lot of competent farmers who know exactly what they are doing, and for them, it will be a way to assure their supply chain, customers, and the public that pigs are being treated as expected.”
“As pig veterinarians, the welfare of the pigs we care for is a top priority,” said Jim Morris, President of the British Pig Veterinary Society. "We welcome the launch of this module as another way to demonstrably raise the already high welfare standards on British pig farms."
Finally, Jen Waters, Director of Knowledge Exchange (Swine) of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), aimed at maintaining the standards of quality and sustainability of the food industry, added: "The pork industry is leading the way in terms of animal welfare, and the launch of a training platform for all those who work with pigs is another big step. We hope that growers, as well as consumers, find his presence reassuring."
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